Tales of Vacation and Labor

The Pawtucket Red Sox play 144 games in 151 days.You don’t have to be Stephen Hawking to do the math and figure out that they have 7 days off all summer long.

The 3-day all-star break accounts for 43% of that April ’till September vacation time, so imagine my surprise when I asked Travis Denker how the break was and he answered “too long.”

It’s official, Denker is nuts.

It wasn’t like he sat around doing nothing.Travis went to Six Flags Amusement Park one day, and played golf on another, but he’s an adrenaline junkie who craves action – whether it’s baseball or surfing.

Jeff Natale actually worked during the all-star break – making pasta for his girlfriend’s gourmet pasta company.It’s called Nella Pasta and you can check it out here.No word on whether Natale wore batting gloves while cranking out homemade noodles.

Manager Ron Johnson went home to rural Tennessee and said he “enjoyed every minute of it.”I suspect his beloved horse “Peanut” wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic after carrying RJ on his back for three days.RJ joked that as he was leaving home, “Peanut” stood up on his hind legs and held up a hoof in what appeared to be an obscene gesture.

As least I think he was joking.

* * * * *

By the time you read this, PawSox catcher Dusty Brown could be a dad.

Brown was 1-for-2 with a walk on Thursday night before being replaced in the 8th inning by Mark Wagner.

We immediately wondered if Dusty’s wife Jordan had gone into labor and received this e-mail from Jordan moments later:

Hi guys, just picked Dusty up at the field, we’re heading to the hospital. I’ve been having contractions all day and they’re finally close enough together to head to Mass General in Boston!

So if you were on the highway between Pawtucket and Boston on Thursday night around 10:00 pm and thought you saw a car whiz by that featured someone behind the wheel wearing catcher’s gear with a pregnant woman in the passenger’s seat, it probably wasn’t your imagination.

Our best wishes to Dusty and Jordan!We look forward to hearing all about the arrival of baby Jude.

* * * * *

In case you missed it, both Pawtucket players who were selected to participate in the Triple-A All-Star game appeared in the International League’s 6-5 win on Wednesday night in Portland, OR.

Unfortunately, neither pitched as well as they have this season for Pawtucket.

Jose Vaquedano allowed 2 ER in 0.1 IP, and Fernando Cabrera allowed a HR in the 9th inning.Cabrera did record the final two outs to get credit for the save.

* * * * *

Relief pitcher T.J. Large joined us on the pre-game show before Thursday’s game and answered this hard-hitting question:

According to your bio, your name is Terry W. Large.What does the W stand for and how did you become T.J.?

“My full name is Terry Wayne Large Jr.When I was in second grade, my friends would call the house and ask for ‘Terry,’ and my dad and I would be confused – we didn’t know who the call was for.So ever since second grade I’ve gone by T.J. just so we would know who the phone was for and it just kind of stuck with me ever since.”

So now you know.

* * * * *

The PawSox will look to snap a 6-game losing streak on Friday night in Game 2 of a 4-game series against Indianapolis.Charlie Zink will start for the PawSox, while Tom Gorzelanny goes for the Indians.I hope you’ll join us for the radio call beginning with the pre-game show at 6:50 on the PawSox radio network and PawSox.com.

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3 comments

congrats to Dusty brownie… heard a coulple of guys call him that before tonights game. pawsox just cant seem to get it right. hope for a win tomorrow.
-bettencourt http://yankeefaninri.mlblogs.com/ check out the blog tell me what you think.

About Me

I began writing this blog when I was a broadcaster for the Pawtucket Red Sox before leaving the team at the end of the 2011 season to become the radio voice of the Cincinnati Bengals. I am also the radio play-by-play announcer for University of Cincinnati football and basketball. Thanks to all of you who began reading this blog for content about Red Sox prospects. I will always cherish my time with the PawSox.
I still plan to write about baseball and will post all of my blog entries about the Bengals and Bearcats on this blog as well. I welcome your questions and/or comments at Dan.Hoard@Bengals.NFL.Net